Are Contrast Cuffs and Collars Appropriate for Business Wear?

Can I wear dress shirts with contrast-color (i.e. not the same as the main shirt) collars and cuffs with a business suit, or are they only for shirts you wear on their own?

Community Answers

282

4-17-12

Geoffrey says:

White contrast cuffs or collars should be fine most places. I wouldn’t wear them for your most formal business presentations, but I’ve seen bankers wearing white collars on blue shirts with pretty conservative suits. A colored shirt with white French cuffs is a particularly classic look, and should be acceptable anywhere that a colored shirt of any kind is appropriate (in the most formal settings you’ll always want to stick to plain white).

Colored or patterned contrast cuffs, which are very popular in European brands right now, are a more casual design element and shouldn’t be worn with business suits. I’ve never seen a patterned collar with a differently-patterned shirt outside of novelty costuming, but if you do ever see it I would assume it’s meant to be very casual.